Awarding of South Line of NSRP project seen in April 2016

MANILA, Philippines - The government is looking to award the P171 billion South Line of the North-South Railway Project (NSRP), the biggest under the public private partnership program, within the first-half of next year.

Under the instructions to prospective bidders released by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the issuance of the notice of award to the winning bidder of the project would be on April 27, 2016.

The submission of the qualification documents for the project is on Oct. 15, while the date for the submission of bids is set for March 28 next year.

The project will follow a two-stage bidding process wherein bidders have to be pre-qualified first based on the minimum legal, technical and financial requirements set by the DOTC and Philippine National Railways.

Only those who pre-qualify shall be invited to submit their technical and financial proposals.

The NSRP involves the design and construction of the 56-kilometer commuter rail from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba City in Laguna, as well as the 478-km long-haul rail service from Tutuban to Legazpi in Albay.

The long-haul service will have the following possible extensions: 58-km from Calamba, Laguna to Batangas City; and 117-km from Legazpi, Albay to Matnog, Sorsogon.

At present, the PNR operates the commuter line service from Tutuban to Calamba, serving around 75,000 commuters daily.

Aside from construction, the winning bidder will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the entire NSRP South Line.